DS-C9148T-24EK9 – 24x32G FC Ports – 48-Port 1RU Chassis – Exhaust SAN Switch

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DS-C9148T-24EK9 Description

The DS-C9148T-24EK9 is a Cisco MDS 9148T 32G Fibre Channel SAN switch for storage fabrics that need a 1RU fixed switch with room to grow. The switch has 24 active ports on a 48-port SFP+ chassis, 4/8/16/32 Gbps autosensing, 1.5 Tbps of aggregate bandwidth and port-side exhaust airflow. Ports beyond 24 come from M9148T-PL8 8-port activation licenses, and the base switch has no factory optic bundle.

Quick Specs

Parameter

Specification

Product ID

DS-C9148T-24EK9

Product type

32G Fibre Channel SAN switch

Form factor

1RU fixed-switch form factor

Fibre Channel ports

48 SFP+ ports base

Active ports at order

24 active FC ports

Fibre Channel speed support

4, 8, 16, and 32 Gbps autosensing

Dedicated bandwidth per port

32 Gbps

Aggregate bandwidth

1.5 Tbps end-to-end full duplex

Port groups

3 port groups of 16 ports each

Base order hardware

4 fans and 2 PSUs

Airflow

Port-side exhaust

Product Performance

Aggregate Full-Duplex Bandwidth
Dedicated Fibre Channel Bandwidth per Port
Fixed Chassis Port Scale

Key Features

Port-Side Exhaust Airflow

Air leaves toward the port side, with DS-CAC-650W-E supplies and DS-C32S-FAN-E fan modules. The intake variant reverses the direction, so a rack row needs one airflow type throughout.

Twenty-Four Active Ports On A 48-Port Chassis

The chassis has 48 SFP+ ports and 24 are active at the start. Any 24 ports can be enabled, so cabling is not tied to the first half of the faceplate.

Activation In 8-Port Steps

M9148T-PL8 licenses add 8 ports each, taking the switch to 32, 40 and then 48 active ports. Each step is a license file rather than a hardware change.

Three 16-Port Groups With Deep Buffers

Ports sit in three groups of 16, each with up to 8300 buffer credits, 500 per port by default and 8270 on one port. Each port has 32 Gbps of dedicated bandwidth, and the chassis aggregates 1.5 Tbps full duplex.

Two 650W Supplies And Four Fans

The two 650W AC supplies are 80 Plus Platinum rated at 100 to 240 VAC. Typical draw is 251W with 24 32G SW optics, and 217W for an idle chassis with no optics.

Software Baseline

Cisco MDS NX-OS 8.3(1) or later and Cisco DCNM 11(0) or later are the minimum releases, which matters for fabrics still on older MDS code.

Application Scenarios

SAN Access For A Storage Row

A storage row with a few dozen hosts and array controllers can terminate its 32G links on the 24 active ports and leave the rest of the chassis for later.

Fabric Edge With Growing Port Needs

An edge switch that adds hosts every few months can step from 24 to 32, 40 and 48 active ports with 8-port licenses on the same chassis.

Exhaust-Cooled Equipment Rows

In rows where cabinet fronts face a hot aisle, the port-side exhaust version pushes air out toward the ports to match that airflow plan.

Product Comparison

Parameter

DS-C9148T-24EK9

DS-C9148T-24IK9

DS-C9148T-24PETK9

DS-C9148T-48PETK9

Fibre Channel ports

48 SFP+

48 SFP+

48 SFP+

48 SFP+

Active Fibre Channel ports

24

24

24

48

Port speed

4/8/16/32 Gbps autosensing

4/8/16/32 Gbps autosensing

4/8/16/32 Gbps autosensing

4/8/16/32 Gbps autosensing

Aggregate bandwidth

1.5 Tbps

1.5 Tbps

1.5 Tbps

1.5 Tbps

Buffer credits

8300 per 16-port group

8300 per 16-port group

8300 per 16-port group

8300 per 16-port group

Airflow

Port-side exhaust

Port-side intake

Port-side exhaust

Port-side exhaust

Included optics

Not included

Not included

24 x 32G SW

48 x 32G SW

Fan modules

4

4

4

4

Power supplies

2 x 650W AC

2 x 650W AC

2 x 650W AC

2 x 650W AC

DS-C9148T-24EK9 and DS-C9148T-24IK9 are the same base switch with 24 active 32G FC ports, 4 fans, 2 PSUs and no optics; the difference is airflow, port-side exhaust on DS-C9148T-24EK9 against port-side intake on DS-C9148T-24IK9, so racks that need intake take DS-C9148T-24IK9. Optics shipped with the switch change the model to DS-C9148T-24PETK9, which adds 24 x 32G SW optics, or DS-C9148T-48PETK9, which has 48 active ports and 48 x 32G SW optics. DS-C9148T-24EK9 grows to 48 ports in 8-port steps with M9148T-PL8 licenses.

Ordering Checklist

  • Airflow spares: Order DS-CAC-650W-E= and DS-C32S-FAN-E= for port-side exhaust. The intake versions, DS-CAC-650W-I= and DS-C32S-FAN-I=, would reverse airflow in the same chassis.
  • Port growth: M9148T-PL8 adds 8 ports; M9148T-PL8T adds 8 ports with 8 x 32G SW optics. The switch ships with 24 active ports, and each license block raises that to 32, 40 or 48.
  • Optics: Add DS-SFP-FC32G-SW or DS-SFP-FC16G-SW as separate lines. The base switch is ordered without optics, so no transceivers arrive unless they are on the order.
  • Power cords: Select a CAB-9K10A-* or CAB-9K12A-NA regional cord, or a CAB-C15-CBN cabinet jumper. The 650W AC supplies take a C15 cord, so the cord must match the destination country or cabinet.

Optional Add-ons

Model

Description

M9148T-PL8

Cisco MDS 9148T 8-port On-Demand Activation license

M9148T-PL8=

Cisco MDS 9148T 8-port On-Demand Activation spare license

M9148T-PL8T

Cisco MDS 9148T 8-port activation license with 8 x 32G SW optics

DS-CAC-650W-E=

AC PSU port-side exhaust spare for MDS 9148T

DS-C32S-FAN-E=

MDS 9148T fan module port-side exhaust spare

DS-SFP-FC32G-SW

Cisco 32G FC shortwave optic

DS-SFP-FC32G-LW=*

Cisco 32G FC longwave optic

DS-9148T-KIT-CSCO

MDS 9148T accessory kit for Cisco

Front View

DS-9148T-front

1

Serial console port

7

Activity status LED

2

System status LED

8

Ethernet management ports (2)

3

Power status LED

9

Fixed FC ports

4

Fan status LED

10

FC port status LEDs (48)

5

USB port

11

Airflow grill

6

Link status LED

Rear View

1

Power supply failure status LED

6

Power supply status LED

2

Power supply unit fan

7

Power supply units (2 units)

3

Power supply unit handle

8

Chassis fan modules (4 units)

4

Unswitched power receptacle

9

Chassis fan module release latches (8)

5

Power supply unit latch release

DS-9148T-rear

1

Power supply unit slot 1

4

Chassis fan module slot 3

2

Chassis fan module slot 1

5

Chassis fan module slot 4

3

Chassis fan module slot 2

6

Power supply unit slot 2

Specifications

Parameter Specification Parameter Specification
Product ID DS-C9148T-24EK9 Product compatibility Cisco MDS 9000 Family
Product type 32G Fibre Channel SAN switch Order configuration 24 active FC ports, 4 fans, 2 PSUs, port-side exhaust airflow
Rack units 1RU fixed-switch form factor Fibre Channel ports 48 SFP+ ports base
Active ports at order 24 active FC ports Port activation license M9148T-PL8 8-port upgrade license
Maximum active ports 48 active FC ports Fibre Channel speed support 4, 8, 16, and 32 Gbps autosensing
Dedicated bandwidth per port 32 Gbps Switching capacity 1.5 Tbps end-to-end full duplex
Port groups 3 port groups of 16 ports each Buffer credits Up to 8300 for a group of 16 ports, 500 default per port, 8270 maximum for a single port in the group
Port channel support Up to 16 load-balanced physical links in one port channel Fibre Channel port types E, F, B, SD, ST, NP, and TE
FC-NVMe support FC-NVMe listed in the protocol support Fabric services Name server, RSCN, login services, FCS, broadcast, and in-order delivery
Advanced functions VSAN, NPV, IVR, port channel with multipath load balancing, and flow- and zone-based QoS Security functions VSAN isolation, hardware zoning ACLs, FC-SP, RBAC, SFTP, SSHv2, SNMPv3, control-plane security, TrustSec payload encryption, secure boot, and anti-counterfeit technology
Diagnostics POST, OHMS, internal loopbacks, SPAN, Fibre Channel traceroute, Fibre Channel ping, Fibre Channel debug, Cisco Fabric Analyzer, syslog, port-level statistics, link diagnostics, and read diagnostic parameter High availability components Hot-swappable dual redundant power supplies, hot-swappable fan module, and hot-swappable SFP+ optics
Management port mgmt0 10/100/1000BASE-T and mgmt1 1/10G SFP+ port Console port RS-232 serial console port
USB port USB power-on auto-provision port Programmability NX-API RESTful interfaces, onboard Python interpreter, Cisco DCNM web services API, EEM, and NX-OS scheduler
Minimum NX-OS release Cisco MDS NX-OS 8.3(1) or later Minimum Cisco DCNM release Cisco DCNM 11(0) or later
Default power supply DS-CAC-650W-E 650W AC port-side exhaust power supply; two supplies in the order configuration AC input voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 10 percent range
AC input frequency 50 to 60 Hz nominal Typical power without optics 217W for idle 48-port switch without optics modules
Typical power with 24 optics 251W for 48-port switch with 24 32G SW optics under typical conditions Typical power with 48 optics 297W for 48-port switch with 48 32G SW optics under typical conditions
Airflow Back to front toward ports using port-side exhaust fans Airflow rate with system fan assembly 50 CFM through system fan assembly at 77F (25C)
Airflow rate 100 CFM maximum Dimensions 1.72 x 17.3 x 22.3 in. (4.37 x 43.94 x 56.64 cm), excluding PSU and fan module handles
Operating temperature 32 to 104F (0 to 40C) Operating humidity 10 to 90 percent noncondensing
Operating altitude -197 to 6500 ft (-60 to 2000 m) Supported FC optics 32G SW, 32G LW, 16G SW, 16G LW, 8G SW, and 8G LW optics listed
Included accessory kit Cisco-specific MDS 9148T accessory kit shipped as standard

Quality Certifications

Customer Reviews

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    Gary Lee
    Posted on 19/01/2026
    Verified Buyer
    5.0

    Our team had reservations. They were unfounded — Layer23 delivers.

    Amanda Adams
    Posted on 13/01/2026
    Verified Buyer
    4.0

    What we saved on hardware, we reinvested in supporting infrastructure.

    Tony Phillips
    Posted on 05/12/2025
    Verified Buyer
    5.0

    They keep their customers informed and engaged throughout the relationship.

    Qi'ra
    Posted on 10/08/2024
    Verified Buyer
    5.0

    Ambition requires resources. This switch handles our data. Trusted partner.

    Storage Admin
    Posted on 02/04/2024
    Verified Buyer
    5.0

    Base model with enterprise license. Good value for a small SAN.

Questions & Answers

  • How many ports are active on DS-C9148T-24EK9 by default, and how are more enabled?

    DS-C9148T-24EK9 ships with 24 of its 48 SFP+ ports active, and any 24 ports can be the enabled ones. M9148T-PL8 licenses add 8 ports each, taking the switch to 32, 40 and then 48 active ports.
  • Which Fibre Channel speeds does DS-C9148T-24EK9 support?

    DS-C9148T-24EK9 supports 4, 8, 16 and 32 Gbps autosensing on its Fibre Channel ports. Each port has 32 Gbps of dedicated bandwidth, and the chassis aggregates 1.5 Tbps end-to-end full duplex.
  • Which management ports does DS-C9148T-24EK9 have?

    DS-C9148T-24EK9 has an mgmt0 10/100/1000BASE-T port and an mgmt1 1/10G SFP+ port. It also has an RS-232 serial console port and a USB power-on auto-provision port. Cable the mgmt0 port to the out-of-band management network for remote access.
  • How many links can one port channel on DS-C9148T-24EK9 hold?

    One port channel on DS-C9148T-24EK9 holds up to 16 load-balanced physical links. The standard Fibre Channel port types are E, F and B, and the enhanced port types are SD, ST, NP and TE. A port channel bundles links between two switches into one logical link, so traffic keeps flowing if one member link drops.
  • What power does DS-C9148T-24EK9 draw once all 48 ports carry optics?

    DS-C9148T-24EK9 draws a typical 297W when 48 32G shortwave optics are fitted. The idle chassis without optics draws a lower typical figure, so the 297W value is the one to use when sizing the two 650W AC supplies and the circuits behind them for a fully populated switch.
  • How deep is DS-C9148T-24EK9 in a rack?

    DS-C9148T-24EK9 measures 1.72 x 17.3 x 22.3 in. (4.37 x 43.94 x 56.64 cm), excluding power supply and fan module handles. It operates at 0 to 40C and up to 2000 m altitude, so check the cabinet depth and the room conditions before racking the switch.

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DataSheet Downloads

  • DS-C9148T-24EK9 Datasheet